He might be a new aquaintance, he may be your dearest friend, either way he´s back: Sergeant Petter, the nice Norwegian guy with his checkered shirts and sensational songs. The rock kid with a country voice and heart made of pop songs or was it the other way round?
Anyway, three and a half years have passed since Sergeant Petter first broke through in his home country. Several dashing radio hits paved the way for his debut album, It´s A Record - a treasure trove of energy, invention and charm. A record that provided Petter with devoted fans at home and abroad, important festival gigs at Roskilde (Denmark) and Quart (Norway), a nomination for the Alarm award (Norways alternative music award) and an invitation to let the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra be his backing band. The album also impressed Excelsior Recordings in The Netherlands som much they signed Petter, which has led to several successful forays on the Continent.
In november 2003 Sergeant Petter followed up with the Let´s Go Wrestling EP, showing further nuances in his playful musicality. His second album, Monkey Tonk Matters, appeared at the start of 2005, with radio hit Honky Tonk Rose and a new selection of catchy choruses and cheeky ideas. The album confirmed Petter´s position as one of Norway´s most original artists and was nominated for the Spelleman Award (Norway´s main music award) in the category for Best country record of the year.
By then Petter was already working on new, exciting material. This time he chose to work with the backing group he shares with Sondre Lerche: drummer Ole Ludvig Krüger, bassist Morten Skage and guitar whizz/multiinstrumentalist/producer Kato Ådland. The boys isolated themselves in Skages studio in a fjord outside Bergen, where they jumped from idea to idead and instrument to instrument until they were smiling too wide to stand up straight. Then Petter and Kato went home and fooled around with the recordings some more, before they were handed over to renowned Norwegian producer Yngve Sætre for mxing and mastering.
The result is A Mid-Tempo Frenzy, 12 tracks showing a poppier side of Sergeant Petter. The ooh ooh oohs on Geeks R Cool and whistled chorus of Pulling Life By The Hair clearly prove that he masters the art of the pop song and isn´t afraid to use it. At the same time there´s enough banjo to satisfy that yearning for country (not to forget the steel guitar on I See It Clearly Now and Shut the Ligths.) Furthermore the album varies from rough rockers (Right Back At You, Gone In A Second) to warm, fingerpicked wackiness (Something Went Wrong), plus a couple of bittersweet tributes to someone and someplace that Petter holds dear.
All of this adds up to a fresh, fun-filled whole, where the surprises are tied together by Petters unique songwriting and strong voice (and also the band´s pretty backing vocals). Since he is also releasing the album on his own, new label (fittingly named Its A Label), this is almost like a new debut for the 30 year old.
Buy It's A Record at CD Baby
Buy Let's Go Wrestling at CD Baby
Buy Monkey Tonk Matters at CD Baby
Buy A Mid-Tempo Frenzy at CD Baby
GEEKS R COOL - Brand new video!
